1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mouse trap.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known a conventional mouse trap, in which a port to be opened or closed by a shutter is formed in a box made of a wire net, and the shutter is held with the port thereof opened in engagement with an engaging portion connected in association with a bait hook housed inside of the box. When a mouse bites on a bait placed on the bait hook, the bait hook is pulled, so that the shutter is released from engagement, and then, drops by resiliency. The port is closed and thus, the mouse can be captured.
Furthermore, there is known a mouse trap, in which an adhesive agent is applied to the upper surface of a flat cardboard, which is then put at a position where a mouse is likely to pass through, with the adhesive agent facing upside, whereby when the mouse passes on the adhesive agent, the mouse can be bonded to the adhesive agent, to be thus captured.
However, the former mouse traps are large in size, and are therefore inconvenient for transportation and storage. Moreover, there arises a problem in that it is unpleasant for a user to dispose of the captured mouse, thereby inhibiting a user from application of the traps.
In addition, the learning ability of a mouse is high, and therefore, there arises a problem that since the wire net smells of a mouse if one mouse is trapped in the box, another mouse is hardly likely to be trapped in the box.
Additionally, in the latter mouse trap, the adhesiveness is weakened with time since hairs of paws or a belly of the captured mouse are bonded to the adhesive agent. Further, the captured mouse remains completely exposed, thereby raising a problem of unpleasantness in disposing of the captured mouse and inducing inhibitions on the part of a user.
The present invention has been developed in an attempt to solve the above problems observed in the above-described conventional mouse traps. An object of the present invention is to provide a mouse trap, in which when a mouse rides on a bait placing member in an engagement holding state in which resilient right and left side plates of a main body are opened, a stopper is rotated by the weight of the mouse, thereby releasing the engagement of one of the side plates; both of the side plates are closed by their own resiliency, and then, the mouse is firmly bonded to an adhesive sheet stretched over the inner surface of the main body, and further, is securely held by the resiliency of both of the side plates, so that the mouse can be certainly captured with high capturing capability without allowing any escape; the mouse trap can be compactly stored and is convenient for transportation and storage; the captured mouse can be disposed of while wrapped by the adhesive sheet without any inhibition on the part of the user; and the mouse trap is simple in configuration and low in cost.
In order to achieve the above-described object, a mouse trap according to the present invention comprises: a main body including a top plate and right and left side plates made of disk springs or the like, the side plates being oppositely suspended downward from both of right and left ends of the top plate, to be oppositely closed by their own resiliency, for holding and capturing a mouse therebetween; a bottom plate turnably pivoted at one end thereof to the lower end of one of the side plates; a stopper projecting from the upper surface at the other end of the bottom plate, for engaging and holding the lower end of the other side plate in an open state against the resiliency; an engagement releasing lever pivoted to the stopper slightly behind the center thereof in a turnable manner in a vertical direction, having one end slantwise rising inside of the main body and the other end disposed under the lower end of the side plate in such a manner as to push up the other side plate; a bait placing member erected at the inner end of the engagement releasing lever; and an adhesive sheet detachably stretched over the inner surface of the main body.
Furthermore, the stopper may include a pair of projections projecting from the upper surface on the other side of the bottom plate with a predetermined interval in a longitudinal direction, for engaging and holding the lower end of the other side plate in the open state against the resiliency.
Moreover, the bait placing member is pivoted to and erected at the inner end of the engagement releasing lever in a freely inclined manner.
The mouse trap according to the present invention is normally (i.e., when not in use) held in substantially a V shape, as viewed from the front, in which the right and left side plates of the main body are closed by their own resiliency, that is, the lower ends of both of the side plates abut against each other.
When the above-described mouse trap is used, the right and left side plates are manually pushed to extend outwardly against their own resiliency in a symmetric manner, the lower end of one of the side plates is allowed to engage with the stopper having the pair of engaging projections at the upper surface of the bottom plate, so that both of the side plates are held in substantially the vertical state, and consequently, the main body is held with the front surface and the rear surface opened, and then, the right and left ends of the adhesive sheet are fitted into guide grooves formed at the lower ends of the side plates, and subsequently, the adhesive sheet is stretched over the inner surface of the main body.
Next, a mouse""s favorite bait is placed on the bait placing member, and then, the mouse trap is set at a place where a mouse is likely to pass through.
In this way, a mouse is lured to the bait to enter the main body through the port formed at the fore or rear surface of the main body, and then, rides on the bait placing member. At this time, the bait placing member is descended by the weight of the mouse, and then, the engagement releasing lever is turned, so that the inner end is lowered while the other end is elevated, thereby pushing up the other side plate, so as to release the lower end of the side plate from the stopper.
In this manner, since both of the side plates are closed opposite to each other by their own resiliency, the mouse is bonded from right and left to the side plates via the adhesive sheet, to be strongly held from right and left, and thus, is captured.
Thereafter, the captured mouse is taken out of the main body with the adhesive sheet, and then, is disposed while being wrapped with the adhesive sheet. Only the main body can be recycled.